Effect of enhanced doses of phosphorous and zinc fertilizers over recommended doses of fertilizers (RDF) on grain yield and its attributes in wheat (Triticum durum L.)

The present investigation entitled "Effect of enhanced doses of Phosphorous and Zinc fertilizers over recommended doses of fertilizers (RDF) on grain yield and its attributes in wheat (Triticum durum L.) was conducted at field research farm of Department of Agriculture, MM(DU), Mullana, Ambala, Haryana during winter season of 2023. The field experiment was laid out in a Factorial Randomized Block Design (FRBD) with three replications and four treatments applied to three durum wheat varieties WHD 943, WHD 965 and WHD 948. The treatments were control (T1), (T2) 100% RDF (recommended doses of fertilizers) i.e., Nitrogen-150 kg/ha through Urea (50% basal dose + urea 25% at after 25 days of sowing + 25% at pre flowering), Phosphorous-60 kg/ha through SSP (100% basal dose), Potassium- 60 kg/ha through Muriate of Potash (100% as basal dose) and ZnSo4-25 kg/ha, (T3) 25% higher ZnSo4 + RDF, (T4) 25% higher P2O5 + RDF. The data were recorded on plant growth parameters, grain yield and its components namely plant height, dry weight accumulation per meter row length, total no. of tillers running per meter row length, number of spikes per meter row length, number of grains per spike, test weight, grain yield, straw yield and biological yield. Indices namely harvest index, cost of cultivation, gross return, net returns and benefit cost ratio were computed. The comparative evaluation of various treatments revealed that 25% enhanced doses of Phosphatic and Zinc fertilizers gave good response and higher yield as compared to RDF. The increase in yield due to application of 25% higher phosphorous (46.3 q/ha) as well as zinc (42.4 q/ha) was significantly higher over RDF (39.0 q/ha) and control (27.6 q/ha). Treatments T4 showed highest gross returns (Rs. 139970/ha) and net returns (Rs. 73152.44/ha) as well as higher benefit cost ratio (2.09).